Map applications are developed and used to provide navigation functions. Prior to and during the course of navigation, a user oftentimes performs certain user actions on a displayed map to obtain route information (e.g., remaining distance, turns, traffic conditions, and locations of rest areas). Therefore, there is a need to render the map in a more user friendly manner, and specifically, the map is preferably displayed with many interested information items and improved overall effects to satisfy various users' navigation needs.
Global Positioning System (GPS) technology is applied to identify a position of a mobile device. A map application is further used to display a map on a user interface of the mobile device, and mark the position of the mobile device as a circle or a bubble on the map. As the position varies with movement of the mobile device, a user of the mobile device could choose to preview the route ahead. Specifically, the mobile device detects a user action (e.g., a swipe) on the map displayed on the user interface, and thereby, adjusts the displayed area of the map on the user interface to allow the user to preview interested part of the map. Accordingly, the marked position of the mobile device shifts with the variation of the displayed area of the map, and sometimes, would move out of the displayed area. The user experience could be comprised as the marked position of the mobile device is not displayed on the mobile device. Based on this specific example, a need exists to accommodate both information previewing and position displaying on the user interface, such that better user experiences could be rendered for the map application on the mobile device.